'Fast and Furious' 7 to Stop Production in Wake of Paul Walker's Death

Universal Pictures has just announced that they have stopped production on the seventh "Fast & Furious" movie just after the untimely death of lead actor Paul Walker.

It is unclear how long production will be shut down, but it does not seem to be a permanent cancelation. The studio has announced that production will stop "for a period of time so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise," the Associated Press reported.

The studio released a statement earlier today.

"Right now, all of us at Universal are dedicated to providing support to Paul's immediate family and our extended Fast & Furious family of cast, crew and filmmakers. At this time we feel it is our responsibility to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for a period of time so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise. We are committed to keeping Fast & Furious fans informed, and we will provide further information to them when we have it. Until then, we know they join us in mourning the passing of our dear friend Paul Walker," the statement read.

Paul Walker was set to star in "Fast and Furious 7" along with Jason Statham, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Vin Diesel.

The 40-year-old Walker died on Saturday in a car crash in southern California. He was returning from a charity event he organized called "Reach Out Worldwide." The event was raising money to support the Philippines typhoon relief.

Earlier today the coroner said that Walker died of "combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries" sustained in the car accident.

Walker is survived by his daughter Meadow, who is 15 years old.